Mamadou comes to us from Senegal. Like, that's really, really far away from Virginia Tech. If you look it up on Google, Google will tell you that Senegal is just about 4,776 miles away. That's really far! Driving there would take you over seven days. But hold on. A gigantic ocean lies in the way. And we call that ocean The Atlantic.

Ah, West Africa. Steeped in Legend and Lore. And animals everywhere. So many that Mamadou decided to study four species: Leopards, Lions, Wild Dogs, and Hyenas. Cats and Dogs, my friends. And all of this happening in the Niokolo-Koba National Park down near the border with Guinea.

Somebody once studied those four animals in Senegal a while ago, and we have a feeling the results of that study aren't really telling us anything. All four of those animals are CITES listed. And yet no one really knows how many there are, or how they feel, or what they do, or where they go. No one really knows anything about them at all.

Enter Mamadou. He's using the latest technologies, the most modern equipment, a sack full of cutting-edge modelling, an AK-47, and some of the biggest brains on the planet. Soon we'll know if those dogs and cats in Senegal live happy, contented lives. Or if they spend days on the streets with a tin cup in hand, and sleep in cardboard boxes at night.

Here is Mamadou's delightful CV. Want more? Yes you do. Go here and pore over his enchanting Working Plan.